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UCLA d. CAL 2-0 UCLA d. Stanford 8-0 UCLA d. Stanford 2-0

By Andrew Borders and

Vytas Mazeika

Daily Bruin Reporters

The Bay Area softball teams came, they saw, and they were conquered.

No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 California had every intention of putting their mark on the Pac-10 with a strong weekend at Easton Stadium, but No. 2 UCLA had other ideas. The Bruins (49-4, 10-4 in the Pac-10) didn’t allow a run all weekend, relying largely on the right arm of Keira Goerl.

The freshman hurler pitched 16 of the 19 innings this weekend, allowing only four hits along the way and earning all three victories to improve her record to 21-1.

The Cardinal (44-9-1, 9-6) and Bears (47-9, 4-8), on the other hand, could not contain the Bruin bats. UCLA hitters compiled 23 hits and nine walks en route to Friday’s 2-0 win vs. Cal, Saturday’s 8-0 win vs. Stanford (a rare mercy-rule game against a Pac-10 foe) and Sunday’s 2-0 finale vs. Stanford.

“When they can see they’re disciplined (at the plate) and when they can see they’re confident (on the field), they have so much fun,” UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist said. “And when they start having fun, they’re really tough to beat.”

On Saturday, the Bruins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after sophomore third baseman Tairia Mims smashed her 15th home run of the season – a shot to straight-away center field. Stanford held UCLA scoreless the next couple of innings, but a five-run fourth-inning rally was capped by senior pitcher Courtney Dale’s two-run, bases loaded single.

The subsequent inning, Mims ended the game with a 185-foot, bases-loaded single off the left field wall that triggered the mercy rule.

On Sunday, the Bruins once against jumped out to an early lead when junior catcher Stacey Nuveman drove an outside pitch down the right field line to score sophomore shortstop Natasha Watley, who over the weekend extended her hitting streak to 32 games – a Pac-10 record and fifth-best in NCAA Division I history.

The only other run came on junior second baseman Crissy Buck’s first home run of the season. Buck, who had been pitched inside all weekend, was looking for an inside pitch to drive, and she got one.

“Crissy Buck is the gutty little Bruin on this team,” Enquist said. “She plays the game so hard, and she plays with so much vigor.”

Buck and the rest of the Bruins were rock solid on defense all weekend, including a key play on Sunday against Stanford where Cardinal first baseman Sarah Beeson was thrown out trying to sneak into second base before the umpire called a time-out.

“We were heads-up and we kind of stomped out their fire,” Buck said.

On Friday, UCLA completed the season sweep of Cal with a 2-0 win. The Bruins scored in the first inning when freshman first baseman Claire Sua reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Watley. Nuveman added another run in the sixth with a solo home run to right-center field, her 14th of the year.

“It was nice to finally get a hold of one. It’s been a while,” Nuveman said.

Considering she holds the UCLA record for home runs in a season, the six days since her last home run must have felt much longer for her.

After a tenuous first inning in which she gave up three walks, freshman Goerl settled down and kept a no-hitter going through 5 2/3 innings. Goerl issued only those three walks along with three hits, striking out five.

“She let them in the door a little bit later in the game,” UCLA Assistant Coach Lisa Fernandez said. “But I have tremendous confidence in Keira and I know she has the ability to get herself out of messes.”

Cal senior pitcher Nicole DiSalvio (17-4) threw a strong game, allowing just five hits and two walks, but striking out only one.

“I thought Nicole did a great job,” Cal Head Coach Diane Ninemire said. “We just couldn’t get the key hit to bring in the run.”